Character Analysis
Sarah Pocock
Sarah Pocock, Chad's sister, arrives in Paris under instructions from her mother, Mrs. Newsome, to convince Chad that he should return to America. She functions as the second "ambassador," supplanting Lambert Strether. Sarah resembles her mother, though she "inclined to the massive" and her mother was "much handsomer." Strether "had seen Mrs. Newsome reserved; he had literally heard her silent, though he had never known her unpleasant. It was the case with Mrs. Pocock that he had known her unpleasant, even though he had never known her not affable." Although Sarah says she "knows" Paris, she is not fundamentally affected by the Parisian surroundings. Resolute and domineering, she lacks the basic sensitivity to see any change in her brother, though Strether continually thinks she is on the verge of understanding what Madame de Vionnet and Paris have done for Chad. Throughout the novel, she steadfastly maintains her purpose and does not deviate from her ambassadorial mission.